my brother and i were discussing blade runner and DADOES. he said that in the movie, he thought he was human, but when he read the book, he caught lots of clues hinting he was a replicant. most of this i never caught up on, until we talked about it.

one thing we talked about was the owl. he wanted an animal, a real one, but he wouldnt accept the animal because he feared for his own life, something only a rep would care about. i never noticed this until a few nights ago.

Leon Corporation wrote:I just read Scott Bukatman's 'Blade Runner' published by the BFI (British Film Institute) and in it he says that Dick's novel also alludes to Deckard as being a replicant.

Not to mention the fact that Rachael had nearly fooled Deckard on the V-K test. Though Rosen explains her trip on Salander 3 as a means of reasoning her lack of empathy, Rachael (with full understanding of the V-K) could've explained it on her own. But it would've only seemed legit if someone else vouched for her. It was mere luck that Deckard was able to uncover the truth.

P.K. Dick's novel DADoES does allude to Rick Deckard as being an android. However, there is evidence within its' pages that shows conclusively that in fact he is human. Below are a few major points supporting my conclusion.

1 Mercerism. Only humans ?fuse? with Mercer, and have the capability of understanding it and the empathy involved. Rick Deckard participated in "fusing" and is a follower of that faith.

2 His regard for animals. Androids have none. (Mercerism considers it a moral duty to breed and raise animals.)

3 He passed the VK test.

Last edited by Kipple on Fri Aug 05, 2005 7:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Leon Corporation wrote:Not to mention the fact that Rachael had nearly fooled Deckard on the V-K test. Though Rosen explains her trip on Salander 3 as a means of reasoning her lack of empathy, Rachael (with full understanding of the V-K) could've explained it on her own. But it would've only seemed legit if someone else vouched for her. It was mere luck that Deckard was able to uncover the truth.

The first result was that Rachael tested positive as an android. Eldon Rosen try'd manipulating Deckard into believing otherwise. Deckard's instincts beckoned from within and he wanted to ask one final question to Rachael. That was all he needed to confirm his original result.

Kipple wrote:P.K. Dick's novel DADoES does allude to Rick Deckard as being an android. However, there is evidence within its' pages that shows conclusively that in fact he is human. Below are a few major points supporting my conclusion.

1 Mercerism. Only humans ?fuse? with Mercer, and have the capability of understanding it and the empathy involved. Rick Deckard participated in "fusing" and is a follower of that faith.

2 His regard for animals. Androids have none. (Mercerism considers it a moral duty to breed and raise animals.)

3 He passed the VK test.

My rebuttal:
At one point during the novel the androids mention that they want to create a way to fuse with Mercer, or a similar mentor. Its possible that Deckard could've been an experimental android like Rachael. If given some false memories and elements of real life (a job, a wife, etc.) he could possibly develop the mental ability (empathy, in this case) to comprehend Mercerism. Even Rachael demonstrated some level of empathy (she had been friends with the rogue androids), so its still possible. Deckard, therefore, could feasibly aquire a love of animals over time. As for the V-K test, perhaps he wasn't asking himself the right questions to make the test. Remember, he didn't fully take the test himself. Or maybe, due to his time spent as a "human" he developed enough of a conscience to "fool" the V-K test into registering him as human.